Anthony Centore

Anthony Centore, Ph.D., is private practice consultant for the ACA, founder of Thriveworks Counseling (with locations in 9 states), and author of the book, How to Thrive in Counseling Private Practice. Anthony is a licensed counselor in Massachusetts and Virginia. Find him on Twitter at @anthonycentore or @Thriveworks.

At my practices, in the last year, two counselors submitted letters of resignation because they were tired of the daily commute and wanted to work closer to home, two others decided to work less and cut their hours by more than half, and another two resigned after deciding to migrate from the east coast to California (one had plans to join a commune and take up organic gardening). Even with over 50 clinicians on staff, losing even one counselor is difficult. But it’s all too common.

A few months ago I wrote a column about the Summer Slump. Let me preface this month’s column by saying that I realize most people have never heard of a “winter slump” in our field. In fact, for many mental health practices, winter is good for business. Short, dark days seem to carry with them client discontent and malaise.

The biggest change between counseling today and 10 years ago (other than the DSM 5, the issue of bullying, self-mutilation among teens, internet addiction, unmarried adulthood, a better understanding of human sexuality and a few hundred other things) is that 10 years ago people would call a practice and sheepishly ask, “do you accept my insurance?” If the practice didn’t, then the caller would still schedule and pay out of pocket.

A Focus on Counseling Client Education
Expectations are everything; and getting buy-in for how things work at your practice is an important part of facilitating happy, satisfied, clients. However, too often client education and informed consent resembles the oft-ignored “terms of use” contract in iTunes. Clients are handed a sheet with 2,000 words of 10-point text and asked to sign (or click “I agree”) to move forward.